## Contents

| Section | Page | |------------------------------------------------------------------------|------| | Foreword | 3 | | Executive Summary - Our Performance | 4 | | Delivering Our Corporate Priorities | 5-6 | | Food Hygiene Rating Scheme | 7 | | Local Authority Performance in England | 8 | | Meat FBO Compliance | 9 | | COVID-19 Food Safety Update | 10 | | Engaging with Consumers and Food Businesses During COVID-19 | 11 | | Making the FSA a great place to work – Diversity & Inclusion | 12 | | Spend vs HM Treasury Limits | 13 | | Breakdown of Corporate Priorities | 14 | | Breakdown of Key Areas of Spend | 15 | The FSA’s objective throughout the COVID-19 response has been to ensure food safety, so that the high level of consumer protection in the UK is preserved. We have provided a robust, effective yet flexible response supporting industry in maintaining food supply and our own staff in protecting themselves and others. Our COVID-19 risk assessment of transmission through consumption of food, or handling of food or packaging, remains very low. The introduction of localised restrictions across England, Wales and Northern Ireland required our operational teams to rapidly respond to the continually changing situation so that we continued to meet our obligations with respect to official controls.

On EU Transition the programme of activities to ensure readiness for the end of the Transition Period remains the FSA’s highest priority programme. Projects within the programme are now in the final stages of delivery and are on track to meet their minimum viable product requirements for 31 December 2020. Where delivery is dependent on other Government departments, we continue to work closely to reflect our requirements. As part of our ‘winter planning’ all projects have undertaken contingency planning for a COVID-19 second wave and we remain confident that EU Transition work is sufficiently prioritised. However, the impact of factors outside the control of the FSA, e.g. timescales for negotiation and development of physical infrastructure at borders, continue to make delivery challenging.

On the FSA’s 2nd strategic priority on regulatory reform, the Achieving Business Compliance (ABC) Programme, there continues to be progress, although this has been slowed by the impact of COVID-19. Work has been undertaken to explore the levers and interventions for regulatory compliance available to the FSA, and how we may utilise these to encourage business compliance. Segmentation work has established evidence and the basis of a hypothesis on the Top 10 retailers having consistently high levels of compliance and a significant impact across the food system for the FSA to explore a different regulatory relationship with them. Work is underway to establish where relationships with this sector work effectively and where improvements can be made. We have also developed our understanding of the regulatory implications of the expanding food platform sector. There is more work to be carried out about the role the FSA has in either authenticating or coordinating a regulatory response to this sector of the food system to ensure consumers are properly informed and food safety is assured.

An FSA workforce that is diverse in terms of background and life experience brings different insights, creates challenge, encourages change and innovation. This makes us more accountable, trusted and we make better decisions; better because they are more attuned to consumer needs and interests across all our communities. Since the launch of our diversity strategy in 2018 our workforce has grown more diverse; the number of ethnic minority and disabled staff has increased and progress is being made towards an equal gender balance. However, we are still some way from achieving a diverse workforce that reflects the diversity of our consumers. Amongst our more senior grades there is little ethnic diversity, we are working with our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Staff Network to gain insight into their experiences of working in the FSA. Our workforce is ageing, the number of employees over 50 continues to increase, however, since 2018 we have seen an increase in under 40s, if current trends continue we will have two distinct generational groups of staff who are likely to have different wants and needs in terms of employment. Executive Summary

Our Performance in Q2 2020/21

Meat FBO Compliance

- 70.5% % increase in full audits in Q2 compared to Q1
- 75.0% Current operating capacity compared to normal levels of Meat FBO audits with a focus on more high-risk premises
- 99.1% % of Meat FBO premises rated ‘Good’ or ‘Generally Satisfactory’

Corporate Milestones

- 9 Corporate Milestones delivered despite COVID-19 reprioritisation
- 8 Page views received in Q2 from our industry portal - Reopening and adapting your food business during COVID-19

Corporate Milestones

- 1.1% point increase in FSA declared minority ethnicity since our Diversity Strategy launch in November 2018
- 2.4% point increase in FSA staff with a declared disability compared to November 2018
- 2% point increase in both under 40s and over 50s since November 2018

FHRS

- Approx. 15,000 Businesses inspected, 13,800 more than in Q1 (typically there are 50,000 inspections per quarter)
- 72.7% % of businesses with an FHRS rating of 5 – very good (+0.4% points since Q1)
- 3.9% % of businesses with an FHRS rating of 2 or lower (-0.3% points since Q1)

Diversity & Inclusion

- 2% point increase in both under 40s and over 50s since November 2018

Corporate Milestones delayed due to COVID-19

- 72.7% % of businesses with an FHRS rating of 5 – very good (+0.4% points since Q1)
- 3.9% % of businesses with an FHRS rating of 2 or lower (-0.3% points since Q1)

Page views received in Q2 from our industry portal - Reopening and adapting your food business during COVID-19

- 165,119

Fewer FHRS ratings published since COVID-19 LA reprioritisation (see slide 7) Delivering Our Corporate Priorities

The FSA’s objectives throughout 20/21 and our COVID-19 response have been to ensure food safety, preserving the high level of consumer protection in the UK whilst supporting industry in maintaining the nation’s food supply.

**EU Transition**

- **Q1 2020/21 (Apr - Jun)**

  - Work with DEFRA to develop list of establishments that export food and feed
  - FSA’s strategic objectives are represented in EU negotiations during 2020

- **Q2 2020/21 (Jul - Sep)**

  - FSA’s strategic objectives are represented in EU negotiations during 2020

- **Q3 2020/21**

  - Food Standards Model – commence pilot (Jan 21)
  - Register a Food Business (RAFB) – 190 LAs onboarded
  - Register a Food Business (RAFB) – security fixes
  - Food Standards Model – in flight evaluation (after Jan 21)
  - Register a Food Business (RAFB) – 230 LAs onboarded

**Achieving Business Compliance (ABC)**

- **Q1 2020/21 (Apr - Jun)**

  - Register a Food Business (RAFB) – 190 LAs onboarded

- **Q2 2020/21 (Jul - Sep)**

  - Register a Food Business (RAFB) – stability fixes

- **Q3 2020/21**

  - Register a Food Business (RAFB) – security fixes

**Key**

- **Completed**
- **On Track**
- **Off Track but will not affect delivery**
- **Off Track due to COVID-19 but will not affect delivery**
- **Off Track** Delivering Our Corporate Priorities

The FSA’s objectives throughout 20/21 and our COVID-19 response have been to ensure food safety, preserving the high level of consumer protection in the UK whilst supporting industry in maintaining the nation’s food supply.

Q1 2020/21 (Apr - Jun)

- Deliver Public / Business Awareness Campaigns - FBO Campaign on Awareness of Hypersensitivity (Jun 21)

  - Ongoing

- PDS support to LAs and FBOs - PPDS Consultation Responses

  - Ongoing

- At a Glance Scheme (AAGS) Initiate Scoping Study

  - Ongoing

Q2 2020/21 (Jul - Sep)

- Prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) support to LAs and FBOs - Update Technical Guidance

  - Ongoing

- Science Council Working Group 5 - Report on 19/20 Scientific Evidence Base Work

  - Ongoing

- Scope Feasibility of AAGS - Deliver Outline Feasibility Report (Oct 20)

  - Ongoing

- Develop Cost of Illness Model - analyse Cost of Hypersensitivity Burden (Jan 21)

  - Ongoing

- Develop a Business Case (Dec 20)

  - Ongoing

Q3 2020/21

- Develop Food Allergic Reaction Reporting Mechanism - Develop Scope

  - Ongoing

- Online FBO approvals system introduced (Sept 21)

  - Ongoing Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

% of food businesses within FHRS scope achieving FHRS rating of ‘5 – very good’ (England, Wales and Northern Ireland consolidated)

% of food businesses within FHRS scope achieving FHRS rating of 2 or lower (England, Wales and Northern Ireland consolidated)

The number of FHRS inspections per month, comparison between 2019 and 2020 to highlight the impact of COVID-19

Published ratings

1% reduction in the number of published ratings in Q1 with a further 0.2% fall in Q2. This is due to:

- Closed records
- Increase in ‘awaiting inspection’

6,400

Fewer FHRS ratings (0-5) published since the beginning of the COVID-19 restrictions 5,300 fewer in Q1 and a further 1,100 in Q2, typically there would be an increase of 1,700 per quarter

During COVID-19, businesses rated 0, 1 or 2 that request a re-rating and the evidence provided remotely indicates that issues have been resolved, are also published as ‘awaiting inspection’

Inspections were deferred to minimise footfall in businesses and divert resources to urgent reactive work and COVID-19 related activities. Advice was updated in June to resume inspections for poorly compliant and high-risk businesses

+0.4% point ratings of 5 at 72.7% since Q1

-0.3% point ratings of 2 or lower at 3.9% since Q1 Local Authority (LA) Performance in England

For further details regarding local authority performance in England please refer to the ‘Local Authority Delivery and Performance’ paper for the 8 December Business Committee meeting.

Number of open and closed cases where we were engaging with the local authority on food hygiene performance issues at the end of 2019/20

- **Total Open cases at the end of Q4 2019/20**
  - 62 LAs identified to have performance issues (Open cases) and where the FSA was intervening on food hygiene performance issues

  - **Stage 1**

    - Written request from Head of FSA Performance Management Team to LA Head of Service for assurance that action will be taken

  - **Stage 2**

    - Written request from FSA Head / Deputy Head of FSA Regulatory Compliance Division to LA Head of Service for assurance that immediate action will be taken

  - **Stage 3**

    - Written request from FSA Chief Executive to LA Chief Executive outlining expectations and requiring suitable assurances of action

  - **Stage 4**

    - Written notification from FSA Chief Executive to the LA Chief Executive of the FSA’s intention to notify Ministers that the FSA cannot provide assurance

LAs at stage 3: Birmingham City Council and Northamptonshire County Council

Number of LAs in England that have responsibility for food hygiene controls: 324

Open case performance issues were identified based on the 2017/18 and 2018/19 LAEMS data. LAs are asked to provide a suitable timebound action plan to secure the required improvements.

Where action is not taken or improvements are not sustained by a LA, we follow an escalation procedure to protect public health and maintain consumer confidence. A staged approach is taken to increasingly engage senior levels of management within the LAs and the FSA as required, as well as other government bodies if appropriate. Meat FBO Compliance

Audit Activity - Number of full audits completed

| | Q4 2019/20 | Q1 2020/21 | Q2 2020/21 | |-------|------------|------------|------------| | Full Audits | 150 | 10 | 150 |

Increase in full audits in Q2 compared to Q1: 70.5%

Current operating capacity compared to normal levels, focusing on audits that have been long due and/or considered high risk: 75%

Q2 % Meat FBO ratings (England, Wales and Northern Ireland Consolidated)

- **Good**: 59.3%
- **Generally Satisfactory**: 39.8%
- **Improvement necessary**: 0.8%
- **Urgent Improvement necessary**: 0.1%

COVID-19 Impact

In July 2020, following extensive consultation with Industry, the audit programme recommenced a risk-based, targeted return to audits. Any concerns/impacts have been mitigated by communication with FBOs, tailoring the approach to each circumstance. This included:

- Using remote and semi-remote auditing techniques
- High-risk premises remain subject to on-site audits

We expect our position in Q3 to continue to steadily return to normal and auditors will continue to use remote techniques where possible and appropriate. Our ambition is to return to 100% of Pre-COVID-19 levels in January 2021, however, this looks less likely as the impacts of the second COVID-19 wave is being felt. Q2 2020/21 COVID-19 Food Safety Update

Social Media Response

The FSA were aware of the potential for disinformation to circulate online in connection with COVID-19. In response, and to ease public fears that food and food packaging could act as a transmission route for COVID-19, we promoted the Risk Assessment report across all channels and launched a series of COVID-19 social media posts:

On Twitter, our top-performing COVID-19 post was the Risk Analysis report. This advised the public that COVID-19 is inactivated by washing with soapy water, and received:

- 5,000 Impressions
- 2.3% Engagement rate
- 1% above our average monthly engagement

A similar post on LinkedIn was the top-performing COVID-19 related post, receiving:

- 11,000+ Impressions
- 4.7% Engagement rate
- 1.2% higher than our average monthly engagement

On Facebook, the top COVID-19 post was on cleaning cutlery and dishes in restaurants, with:

- 7,000+ Impressions
- 4% Engagement rate
- 1.1% above our average engagement rate for Q2

On Instagram, the reopening checklist was the top COVID-19 performer, with:

- 7,000+ Impressions
- 4.7% Engagement rate
- 59 Likes

Risk of Covid-19 Exposure in Food

Overall Risk = Very Low

The FSA considered the probability that UK consumers would receive infectious exposures of COVID-19 via food consumption, handling food contact materials or packaging as Very Low, although the assessment noted that significant uncertainties remain.

Food Incidents

In Q2 the FSA successfully managed the following alongside the COVID-19 incident:

- 571 Incident notifications, 84 fewer than in Q1
- 34 Total food alerts issued
- 17 Allergy alerts
- 17 Product recall information notices Engaging with Consumers and Food Businesses during COVID-19

**What?** Ensure people understand that you cannot get COVID-19 from food, and what to do to keep food safe and Help businesses find the information they need to make adjustments to keep running without compromising food safety.

**How?**

- We continued to push COVID-19 content and reopening business guidance, aligning with the increase in FBOs reopening in July, and with the wider #EatOutToHelpOut campaign.
- We launched the Here to Help campaign. A new section was added to the homepage, directing users to updated content designed for FBOs, whether they're reopening, starting from home, or changing their business model.
- To ease public fears that food and food packaging could act as a transmission route for COVID-19, we promoted the Risk Analysis report across all channels.

**Impact**

- **Page views received in Q2 from our industry portal - Reopening and adapting your food business during COVID-19:** 165,119

  - This is our most popular page on the website, even outranking the homepage in July 2020, showing a clear demand for this content.
  - This represents 5.5% of overall site traffic.

- **Interactions:** 78

- **Reach:** 14,308

- **Downloads in Q2 of our ‘Reopening Checklist’ which was the main thrust of our social media promotion and was the most downloaded document from the website this year:** 22,555

Received from an FSA Facebook post when we launched our #FSAHereToHelp campaign supporting the food industry with guidance, insight and real stories to help food businesses respond to the impact of COVID-19. Making the FSA a great place to work - Diversity and Inclusion

Age

Age range by % for FSA staff September 2020 compared to UK Civil Service March 2020

- 65+: 2% increase in both under 40s and over 50s since November 2018
- 50-59: 2.4% increase in FSA staff with a declared disability since November 2018
- 30-39: 1.1% increase in FSA declared minority ethnicity since November 2018
- 16-19: 0%

Disability

% Comparisons between FSA and Civil Service Declared Disability with the UK working population

- CS - Mar-20: 15%
- FSA - Sept-20: 10%

Ethnicity

% for FSA staff declared minority ethnicity September 2020 compared to UK Civil Service March 2020

- CS - Mar-20: 15%
- FSA - Sept-20: 10%

## Affordability – How The FSA Is Performing Against HM Treasury Limits 2020/21

| | 20/21 Full Year Forecast | 20/21 Limits | Under / (Over) Spend Availability | Fav/(Adv) Variance % | Under / (Over) spend | |--------------------------------|---------------------------|--------------|-----------------------------------|----------------------|---------------------| | **FSA Total (RDEL & CDEL exc AME)** | 120.7 | 126.5 | 5.8 | 5% | | | **Westminster (including EU Exit)** | | | | | | | Net Admin Expenditure | 48.9 | 49.8 | 0.9 | 2% | | | Net Programme Expenditure | 50.3 | 53.1 | 2.8 | 5% | | | Capital (CDEL) | 7.5 | 8.6 | 1.1 | 13% | | | **Wales** | | | | | | | RDEL & CDEL | 3.6 | 3.7 | 0.1 | 3% | | | **Northern Ireland** | | | | | | | RDEL & CDEL | 10.4 | 11.3 | 0.9 | 8% | |

## Breakdown Of Corporate Priorities

| Category | 2020/21 Full Year Forecast £m | 2020/21 Budget £m | Under/(Over) Spend Availability £m | |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|------------------|-----------------------------------| | FSA Total (RDEL & CDEL) (of which): | 120.7 | 126.5 | 5.8 | | Risk Assessment and other Science | 10.5 | 11.0 | 0.5 | | Risk Management and other Policy | 6.5 | 7.1 | 0.6 | | LA Support & Delivery of official controls | 6.5 | 6.8 | 0.3 | | National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) | 4.3 | 4.8 | 0.5 | | Operations excl. NFCU & COVID-19 | 21.8 | 24.0 | 2.2 | | Doing the day job well | 46.9 | 51.3 | 4.4 | | Capital | 1.8 | 3.2 | 1.4 | | Key Priorities (see next slide for breakdown): | 22.4 | 18.3 | (4.1) |

## Breakdown Of Key Areas Of Spend

| Key Priorities (of which): | 2020/21 Full Year Forecast £m | 2020/21 Budget £m | Under / (Over) Spend Availability £m | |---------------------------|-------------------------------|------------------|-------------------------------------| | Key Priorities (of which): | 22.4 | 18.3 | (4.1) | | COVID-19 | 4.5 | 0.0 | (4.5) | | EU Transition excl. NFCU | 9.8 | 10.2 | 0.4 | | Achieving Business Compliance | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.0 | | Operational Transformation | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.0 | | Food Hypersensitivity | 2.2 | 2.2 | 0.0 | | Surveillance ( inc. Sampling) | 2.8 | 2.8 | 0.0 |